The thing that everyone forgets in the KG deal is that the Celtics were the only team Minny would trade KG too. KG wouldn't sign an extension with any team that was losing and any team that KG would sign an extension to go to would have no shot of being a lottery team. So a number one draft pick was essentially meaningless from those teams.

What the Wolves needed was a draft pick that would be a sure fire lottery pick and only the Celtics could offer that because they had the Wolves #1 pick. If the Wolves trade Garnett, they are definitely in the lottery.

Add to that Al Jefferson who was and has been a very good player and the Wolves did alright in that deal.

For whatever it's worth, that pick we dealt back to Minnesota wasn't a lottery pick. Due to the protections on the pick, it eventually turned into a second rounder.

(I know some outlets list that #1 as the Johnny Flynn pick, but that's not accurate.)

Ainge was lucky that two 30+ stars on bad teams came available at the perfect time for the Celtics (when they had a top draft pick, a young stud in Jefferson and two short term large money contracts) Ainge did a good job gathering those pieces, but had luck in terms of the other teams.

Did you really think it was so surprising that KG was on the market? He had like 1 year left on his contract and Minny was going nowhere.

Not surprising, but lucky.

The T-Wolves could have pulled the plug the year before or year after.

The thing that everyone forgets in the KG deal is that the Celtics were the only team Minny would trade KG too. KG wouldn't sign an extension with any team that was losing and any team that KG would sign an extension to go to would have no shot of being a lottery team. So a number one draft pick was essentially meaningless from those teams.

What the Wolves needed was a draft pick that would be a sure fire lottery pick and only the Celtics could offer that because they had the Wolves #1 pick. If the Wolves trade Garnett, they are definitely in the lottery.

Add to that Al Jefferson who was and has been a very good player and the Wolves did alright in that deal.

Also remember that KG didn't want to come to Boston initially, so Ainge scrambled, got a trade done for Ray Allen, and suddenly Boston became very attractive to KG.

So not only did Ainge trade away some of our big assets to get Ray Allen, he had enough left over to keep Minnesota interested while doing moves to convince an elite player to want to come and play for your organization when he previously didn't want to. Oh, and kept Rondo, probably our best prospect and one of our biggest assets.

Anyone who wants to downplay what Ainge did for us that offseason, is simply making a losing argument.

The thing that everyone forgets in the KG deal is that the Celtics were the only team Minny would trade KG too. KG wouldn't sign an extension with any team that was losing and any team that KG would sign an extension to go to would have no shot of being a lottery team. So a number one draft pick was essentially meaningless from those teams.

What the Wolves needed was a draft pick that would be a sure fire lottery pick and only the Celtics could offer that because they had the Wolves #1 pick. If the Wolves trade Garnett, they are definitely in the lottery.

Add to that Al Jefferson who was and has been a very good player and the Wolves did alright in that deal.

For whatever it's worth, that pick we dealt back to Minnesota wasn't a lottery pick. Due to the protections on the pick, it eventually turned into a second rounder.

(I know some outlets list that #1 as the Johnny Flynn pick, but that's not accurate.)

That was the Boston pick maybe, the Wolves can't have a pick protected pick that was their own pick. Boston had Minny's 1st round pick that year they acquired in a Wally Szerbiak deal.

The thing that everyone forgets in the KG deal is that the Celtics were the only team Minny would trade KG too. KG wouldn't sign an extension with any team that was losing and any team that KG would sign an extension to go to would have no shot of being a lottery team. So a number one draft pick was essentially meaningless from those teams.

What the Wolves needed was a draft pick that would be a sure fire lottery pick and only the Celtics could offer that because they had the Wolves #1 pick. If the Wolves trade Garnett, they are definitely in the lottery.

Add to that Al Jefferson who was and has been a very good player and the Wolves did alright in that deal.

For whatever it's worth, that pick we dealt back to Minnesota wasn't a lottery pick. Due to the protections on the pick, it eventually turned into a second rounder.

(I know some outlets list that #1 as the Johnny Flynn pick, but that's not accurate.)

That was the Boston pick maybe, the Wolves can't have a pick protected pick that was their own pick. Boston had Minny's 1st round pick that year they acquired in a Wally Szerbiak deal.

We had Minnesota's #1, but it had protections on it. Also, because of a previous trade Minnesota made with the Clippers (from the Marko Jaric trade) we couldn't get Minnesota's pick until two years after the Clippers got that pick.

Because of the protections, that #1 pick would have never vested. Instead, it was converted into a second rounder.

So he constructs a team that is flourishing even though two of their biggest contributors this season are out for the season, and he sucks?

Yeah, try again.

Okay I'll try again...

The conclusion of the Perk trade was one of the most questionnable trades in the decade. Trading a key piece to another championship, not to mention having two other injury prone centers, in the middle of chasing one last ring for the big 3?

Also letting go of Ray A for dealing with Rondo? Also for drafting horribly pre-Bradley? Also for not firing overrated coach Doc "the all talk" Rivers?

Too much on my mind bro...

I disagree.

Perk was going to get, and he did get, overpaid, and we got Green and Melo for him. Solid deal imo. Perk was a shell of his former self for over a year after his return from knee surgery, he wasn't going to bring us banner 18.

Ray left because he didn't want to admit that he's washed up. So far, Danny and Doc were completely correct on that one. Ray sucked last year, and he sucks on the heat so far. He can't dribble, throws the ball away, and is a defensive liability. All he can do is hit open jumpers and free throws.

Drafting poorly before Bradley? Are you kidding me? He drafted Rondo, Big Al, etc. Ainge is consistently one of the best at drafting.

If you want to criticize him on anything, it should be for not re-signing Tony Allen. That was his most costly move imo. We missed TA for two years, may have cost us a banner.

We lost our starting PG and new starting PF this week and managed to win 4 in a row and play some [dang] good basketball during that stretch.

A team couldn’t do that unless it was well constructed.

Green’s been playing better (though I’ll admit he’ll never be dollar-for-dollar worth his contract), Terry’s shots are starting to fall, Barbosa is an offensive spark, Lee and Bradley are smothering opposing guards, Collins has been chipping in solid if not spectacular minutes, Wilcox is returning with energy, Bass is stepping up when needed. And, The Truth and KG have been rolling along.

But, fan after fan has been complaining day after day that we don’t have Blatche or we haven’t traded for this guy or that guy. It’s not a video game. GMs can’t just make every dream move come true. Ainge has put together a team that can compete and win games without its starting PG and PF. That’s impressive.

I know we still need another big or two, and I’m sure Ainge is working the phones for a trade or free agent signing, but the man did his job during the off-season.

It’s odd to write this, but if Darko had stuck around we may not even be in the position to need another big."

Point is, Ainge has done a great job every season with the money and spots he has available. People who complain often complain because we don't get one particular guy, but there are hundreds of reason why, and no one ever seems to remember that guys Ainge brings in HAVE TO FIT THEIR SYSTEM.

Ainge isn't the best GM in the NBA (the Thunder and Spurs have been pretty good for a while, and stupid Pat Riley did build a championship-caliber team (based on lies and back-stabbing)), but Ainge is a top-5 in the NBA and top-20 in all of sports... and that's pretty [dang] good. I trust him. Even though I cried when Perk was traded...

Ainge was lucky that two 30+ stars on bad teams came available at the perfect time for the Celtics (when they had a top draft pick, a young stud in Jefferson and two short term large money contracts) Ainge did a good job gathering those pieces, but had luck in terms of the other teams.

Did you really think it was so surprising that KG was on the market? He had like 1 year left on his contract and Minny was going nowhere.

Not surprising, but lucky.

The T-Wolves could have pulled the plug the year before or year after.

The thing that everyone forgets in the KG deal is that the Celtics were the only team Minny would trade KG too. KG wouldn't sign an extension with any team that was losing and any team that KG would sign an extension to go to would have no shot of being a lottery team. So a number one draft pick was essentially meaningless from those teams.

What the Wolves needed was a draft pick that would be a sure fire lottery pick and only the Celtics could offer that because they had the Wolves #1 pick. If the Wolves trade Garnett, they are definitely in the lottery.

Add to that Al Jefferson who was and has been a very good player and the Wolves did alright in that deal.

The thing that everyone forgets in the KG deal is that the Celtics were the only team Minny would trade KG too. KG wouldn't sign an extension with any team that was losing and any team that KG would sign an extension to go to would have no shot of being a lottery team. So a number one draft pick was essentially meaningless from those teams.

What the Wolves needed was a draft pick that would be a sure fire lottery pick and only the Celtics could offer that because they had the Wolves #1 pick. If the Wolves trade Garnett, they are definitely in the lottery.

Add to that Al Jefferson who was and has been a very good player and the Wolves did alright in that deal.

For whatever it's worth, that pick we dealt back to Minnesota wasn't a lottery pick. Due to the protections on the pick, it eventually turned into a second rounder.

(I know some outlets list that #1 as the Johnny Flynn pick, but that's not accurate.)

That was the Boston pick maybe, the Wolves can't have a pick protected pick that was their own pick. Boston had Minny's 1st round pick that year they acquired in a Wally Szerbiak deal.

We had Minnesota's #1, but it had protections on it. Also, because of a previous trade Minnesota made with the Clippers (from the Marko Jaric trade) we couldn't get Minnesota's pick until two years after the Clippers got that pick.

Because of the protections, that #1 pick would have never vested. Instead, it was converted into a second rounder.